The Role of Neonatal Health in the Incidence of Childhood Disability

Todd Elder, David N. Figlio, Scott A. Imberman, Claudia Persico

NBER Working Paper No. 25828
Issued in May 2019
NBER Program(s):Children, Economics of Education, Health Economics

We use linked birth and education records for all children born in Florida between 1992 and 2002 to assess the effects of neonatal health on the identification of childhood disabilities. We find that several measures of neonatal health are associated with disability incidence, although birthweight plays the most empirically relevant role. Using large samples of siblings and twins, we find that infant health influences multiple measures of disability and grade repetition in school. The association between birthweight and disability holds throughout the distribution of birthweight and across a range of socioeconomic characteristics, including maternal education and race.

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Document Object Identifier (DOI): 10.3386/w25828